Canadian and Humanitarian Stephen Lewis hopes local efforts will help improve maternal health issues internationally.
During a keynote address at the Bluewater Health Foundation gala Wednesday evening, he focused on four areas for improvement including women, Aboriginals, LGBT, and addictions.
In an interview before his speech, Lewis told Blackburn News that Sarnia is a volunteer community who comes together around urgent matters.
"Terrible difficulty around maternal health internationally, and the hundreds of thousands of women who die in childbirth," says Lewis. "I want to talk about infant and child health and the millions of kids who die in preventable diseases under the age of five, many of them, a million of them in the first month of life."
Lewis, the Companion of the Order of Canada recipient, is recognized globally for his commitment to international development and human rights.
Proceeds from the gala are supporting changes in the Maternal Infant Child Program, including the addition of two Labour/Birth/Recovery/Postpartum rooms and other baby-friendly initiatives.
